Report: Federal recruitment in shambles

PRINCETON (US)—The federal hiring and personnel system in the United States is broken to the point of crisis, according to a recent report that recommends government and academic leaders work together to develop future public servants with skills to address 21st-century challenges.

“The task force sought to identify the complex and changing nature of federal service, while highlighting the ongoing crisis in recruitment and retention—a crisis that’s particularly acute as reports indicate the federal government needs to add approximately 600,000 employees just during President Obama’s administration,” says William Barron Jr., who directed the task force. “The administration is already taking positive steps to address this important issue, though the report emphasizes that government needs to engage universities and schools of public policy more proactively to help encourage the next generation to [pursue] public service.”

The group examined the extreme demands placed on modern government, as well as the shifting career patterns in the work force. They also looked at the combined efforts of the federal government, schools of public policy, and public service organizations to create an environment where, according to the report, “individual students, career placement experts, government managers, and government leaders can better assure more flexible, rewarding, and productive public service careers.”

The task force identified four trends compounding the crisis: major failures in a list of government programs at the federal level; ebbing confidence in government institutions and leaders; a “broken” government hiring and personnel system; and an increased reliance on government subcontracting of programs and jobs.

In addition, the task force highlighted the anticipated baby boomer retirement wave, which is likely to exacerbate the personnel crisis.

Related Articles On Futurity

The report notes that “the 2008 elections came after an alarming string of outright government failures and in the face of a mounting list of critical challenges.” Some of these failures included “the response to Hurricane Katrina . . . serious financial and performance issues with both defense and non-defense contractors, collapsing bridges, failure to adequately regulate the banking and mortgage industries, as well as unsafe meat, vegetables, fruit, cribs, toys, drugs, and other products.”

The report outlines several overarching recommendations for policymakers and the public.

First, schools of public policy must act as champions of government service for their own students and serve as a gateway to public service for other parts of their campuses. Working together, government agencies and schools of public policy also should develop “paths of service” for career opportunities for current and future federal employees.

Additionally, to replenish the ranks at all levels, the federal government must segment the applicant pool to better understand the skills, abilities, motivations, and professional needs of distinct career profiles—from traditional “lifers” to “career switchers” coming to government mid-career or later. The task force proposes establishing and maintaining a report-card system for staff recruitment, hiring, retention, and advancement.

The task force also recommends that schools of public policy work with government agencies and management experts to identify the skills and knowledge needed to allow current and future government officials to govern directly and through private and civic networks. To achieve this, the experts advise the federal government to initiate an interagency discussion to ensure departments and agencies are not outsourcing their core missions and oversight responsibilities.

“Government officials cannot just be monitoring,” the report states, “they must be actively managing in a networked environment.”

NEXT UP

2 Comments

I believe good educated people should be hired for public service. But what I see and heard on tv Our President Obama is surrounding himself with Radicals & self proclaimed communist and call them czars ,that don’t need confirmation by congress and this scares the hell out of me. You People of education should to study and see if this is legal.

charles maxwell September 22, 2009

jimmy carter abolished the “written exam” communist jimmy carter thought poor would Not do well in written test.

if one cannot read, write, add, how can anyone be a public-servant.

Bring back written exams open to all united states citizen.
Objective evaluation system, Not the retarded system now in place.

Objective, written exams open to all united states citizen.

Competence, rigid standards for all citizens. city, county, state, have written exams open to all.